


Working 9-5; What A Way To Make A Living

by mycosmicspacestorm



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Gen, Not Really Character Death, implied necromancy, kinda half fluff but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 13:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21411016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mycosmicspacestorm/pseuds/mycosmicspacestorm
Summary: Ben couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. If he was then how could he be in this much pain?Aka- Klaus finds a way to bring Ben back to life. Here's what happens right afterWarnings are in the Author Notes
Comments: 1
Kudos: 63





	Working 9-5; What A Way To Make A Living

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all ^^
> 
> Based on HGK477’s guide: ‘Nine Things About Being Brought Back From The Dead’
> 
> I had no idea what warning to put this under, but for formality's sake:
> 
> Warnings: Small mention of blood, small mention of death, implied necromancy, pain, cold, lack of air, screaming
> 
> Let me know if I missed any 
> 
> Here we go. Hope you enjoy

The first thing Ben registered was that he was freezing. The second thing was a burning pain in his chest indicating his sudden need for oxygen. Air? Breathing? Who’s that? Hold on a second. Shut up. You’re going to die if you don’t get- Wait-

Ben sat up with a shout. Was it really a shout if it was ear piercing? If it hurt his lungs? No. It was something louder and more soul shattering. A scream? That was closer. Ben was screaming without thinking about what he was doing. How was this going to help him? How was this going to help anyone? 

“Ben,” A calm steady voice said in his ear. It was soft, but also way-too-loud and sent shivers down his spine, goose bumps to appear on his neck, and his feeling of terror to spike. Someone put their hand on his back in an effort of comfort and the stranger continued to speak. “Breathe. Just focus on breathing for a second. In first.”

Ben was shaky and his first breath was shallow -and- quick -and- painful. To the outside eye, this was perfectly understandable. After all, ghosts didn’t need to breathe; did they? There was no need to breathe if one was dead. 

Ben slowly curled up on himself as his body ached and shivered and throbed. He didn’t know how to deal with the burning agony. This was way out of his comfort zone. So much so that if Ben hadn’t been sobbing, he would’ve laughed.

It was so cold. Freezing cold. Excruciatingly cold and- and numb. Though he couldn’t tell why. It was like his heart had stopped or something. A numbness caused by lack of blood circulating in his fingers, toes, ears, nose, brain, chest, heart- 

“Good job, Ben,” The voice said comfortingly rubbing small circles on his back. Ben’s eyes filled with tears. Why was he crying? Why had he screamed when he woke up and not cried? Why now? Ben didn’t understand why there was so much pain. It was unfair. He’d rather die- The voice continued soothingly. ”Are you okay?”

No. Of course not. 

“It-“ Ben’s voice hitched in his throat as he forced out the words. His mouth felt like it hadn’t been used for days- months- years. Right, for a decade. He must have swallowed sandpaper at some point because this is what he imagined it to be: rough and dry and painful.

At a time that was strangely late and all too early, Ben opened his eyes and blinked in surprise at the light. It was brighter than he expected and strange. A bedroom? How had he- This isn’t where Ben remembered being when he went to sleep. Through the confusion, Ben thought about the man’s question. He didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘okay’ anymore. 

“It’s cold. Freezing.”

“Right. Right- Sorry, I’ll-” The person next to him rambled quickly as if blaming himself for the way the world had seemingly turned to ice. Ben turned to look blankly at the curly haired other as he looked around frantically for something. 

Where had Ben seen this man before? There seemed to be a lot of memories of the other, but his thoughts were fuzzy and it took a second to catch up to his surroundings. The man pulled a fluffy blanket seemingly out of nowhere. The concerned glint in his eye was familiar. Oh-

“Klaus,” Ben said with sudden recognition as the other draped the blanket over him. He shook his head slightly. “What’s- What’s going on? I don’t understand.”

“Welcome back, Benny.” Klaus said his worried face breaking into a smile. Despite his grin lighting up his expression, there were dark circles under his eyes.

Was Klaus okay? Ben looked at him with wide eyes. No matter the pain Ben was in, he would still worry about the other. There was no way of knowing if Klaus’ shaking was due to him being high or from the abnormally cold room.

“How’s it feel to be alive again?” Klaus’ voice was filled with wonder and amazement. He might have looked terrible, but his eyes were like tiny emerald stars.

“Terrible.” Ben returned instantly. Being alive hurt. Being dead was- had been- Had Ben been dead? The memories were too fuzzy to tell. Despite his expression, Klaus’ laugh rang out. It was strangely comforting.

“I would imagine so,” He said, still grinning. Ben blinked quickly and moved a trembling hand to wipe away his fallen tears. Klaus immediately reached forwards to embrace Ben. His touch was too much. Too warm. Too comforting. “Don’t cry, Benny. It’s alright!”

It wasn’t okay, but Klaus’s words made it seem like it was going to be. Ben nodded gratefully. Klaus was trying so hard to make everything seem alright again.

“What happened?” Ben asked slowly as he removed himself from Klaus’ arms. There was a slight throbbing that Ben couldn’t pinpoint to one spot. “I don’t think I’m quite awake yet.”

“You-” Klaus fautered for the first time. He glanced around the room, which -Ben couldn’t believe he was notiving for the first time- was smoking slightly, and put a hand on the back of his neck. “Don’t ask. You don’t want to know.”

“Oh,” Ben breathed with a hint of disappointment. Instead of hanging on the unanswered question he addressed the second issue. “I was dead?”

“You mean-” Klaus froze turning to watch Ben curiously. He opened his mouth and closed it again making Ben’s heart drop. Something was wrong. Klaus continued softly. “You don’t remember? You were dead for years, Benny. A ghost.”

“Years-” Ben asked in shock. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. Instantly, the room spun and Klaus grabbed Ben’s shoulder steadying him. They half clung to each other as the blanket Klaus had given Ben fell to the floor.

“What do you mean I was dead? I don’t- These memories are- I can remember us hanging out.” It was true. Ben had clear images of him and Klaus way past their teen years. He could remember two weeks ago watching Klaus getting drunk in a bar. He remembered- After that it was kind of messy, but Ben remembered it! He did! 

“I was dead the whole time?”

“You died when you were fifteen.” Klaus said nodding seriously. “You reappeared a little while after and- and you haven’t left yet.”

“How? How did I die?” Ben’s voice was shaky and the feeling of grittiness hadn’t disappeared. Was it like this because he was sick or… had lack of use made it this way? 

“No,” Klaus said curtly in a very un-Klaus fashion. The way he looked at Ben made him understand that this was serious. “I’ll tell you, but not now. Don’t ask.”

“So I’m back.” Ben said slowly. He would ask again in time. Ben wouldn’t forget. “I’m here and it- What now?”

“Now,” Klaus smiled holding Ben up. He began to dust him off. “Now you live, Benny.”


End file.
